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UBS said to poach Deutsche Bank's top private bankers in Asia

Deutsche Bank AG's top private bankers in Asia, Ravi Raju and Anurag Mahesh, are leaving after nearly a decade with the firm to join UBS Group AG, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

PHOTO: REUTERS

[SINGAPORE] Deutsche Bank AG's top private bankers in Asia, Ravi Raju and Anurag Mahesh, are leaving after nearly a decade with the firm to join UBS Group AG, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Mr Raju, who was Deutsche Bank's Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific head of wealth management, will start at UBS in January in a senior management role, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Deutsche Bank named North Asia wealth management chief Lok Yim as the business's new Asia Pacific head effective immediately, Liza Ding, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the firm, said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday.

He replaces Mr Raju, who has decided to pursue external opportunities, according to the statement. Mr Mahesh, Deutsche Bank's Singapore-based global head of key client partners, has also decided to depart and succession plans will be announced in due course, the statement said.

The moves come after Deutsche Bank separated its asset and wealth management arms in January.

Mr Raju, who previously led both units in the Asia Pacific region, said in June the firm was looking to grow its wealth management business in the region by boosting headcount by more than 50 per cent over the next five years. Mark Panday, a Hong Kong-based spokesman for UBS, declined to comment.

"Asia Pacific continues to be one of the cornerstones of our global investment plans and will only strengthen in importance over time," Deutsche Bank's Mr Ding said in the statement Tuesday, adding that the bank's wealth management strategy in the region remains unchanged.

Mr Raju and Mr Mahesh both joined Deutsche Bank in 2007 from Citigroup, their LinkedIn profiles show. Deutsche Bank runs Asia's eighth largest private bank, with total assets under management of US$66 billion last year, according to Asian Private Banker.